10/02/2013

Texas Becomes 42nd State Now Approved for ESEA Waivers

Monday, September 30th, the Obama Administration approved
a waiver for the state of Texas from the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA), better known as No
Child left Behind ,in exchange for state-developed plans which will help
prepare students for college and careers, as well as provide aid for students in
need, and support effective teaching and leadership.

Texas will now include
3,000 more students with disabilities in its school performance ratings for reading
and math, as a result lowering the minimum subgroup size from 50 to 25 (known
as “n-size”);

Texas will now monitor
the use of alternate assessment, graduation rates, missing student achievement
targets and provide targeted technical assistance to improve efforts;

Texas will fully implement new teacher and
principal evaluations by 2015-2016 and will incorporate student growth as a
measure of teacher/principal effectiveness.

So far, 45 states, D.C. Puerto Rico and the Bureau of Indian
Education have requested waivers from NCLB. Of these requests,42
states and D.C. have been approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
Other applications are still pending.

One of the most controversial aspects of the ESEA waivers has
been the development of new teacher and principal evaluations which include
student achievement as a significant factor in determining an educator’s effectiveness. Check out CEC’s
Special Education Teacher Evaluation Toolkit for a variety of resources to
use when explaining the complex role of a special education teacher during
evaluation conversations.

Comments

Texas Becomes 42nd State Now Approved for ESEA Waivers

Monday, September 30th, the Obama Administration approved
a waiver for the state of Texas from the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA), better known as No
Child left Behind ,in exchange for state-developed plans which will help
prepare students for college and careers, as well as provide aid for students in
need, and support effective teaching and leadership.

Texas will now include
3,000 more students with disabilities in its school performance ratings for reading
and math, as a result lowering the minimum subgroup size from 50 to 25 (known
as “n-size”);

Texas will now monitor
the use of alternate assessment, graduation rates, missing student achievement
targets and provide targeted technical assistance to improve efforts;

Texas will fully implement new teacher and
principal evaluations by 2015-2016 and will incorporate student growth as a
measure of teacher/principal effectiveness.

So far, 45 states, D.C. Puerto Rico and the Bureau of Indian
Education have requested waivers from NCLB. Of these requests,42
states and D.C. have been approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
Other applications are still pending.

One of the most controversial aspects of the ESEA waivers has
been the development of new teacher and principal evaluations which include
student achievement as a significant factor in determining an educator’s effectiveness. Check out CEC’s
Special Education Teacher Evaluation Toolkit for a variety of resources to
use when explaining the complex role of a special education teacher during
evaluation conversations.